Battered, breaded poultry pieces have been known for some time. Unfortunately, the several drawbacks exhibited by such products have also become well known.
In general, such products are prepared by separately formulating a batter of flour, water, optional flavoring ingredients, and other optional additives, and then coating the poultry piece with the batter. The batter can also contain typically egg and milk derivatives. The batter is then applied to the poultry piece. The batter coating forms a film around the piece of meat. Frequently, a layer of breading is then applied to the moist batter layer. The breading typically comprises small particles of dried bread or equivalent material and frequently includes seasonings and coloring agents to impart desired final qualities to the product. The thus prepared piece of meat can then be cooked, or can be frozen for cooking at a later time.
The batter coating accomplishes in general one desired objective, namely preserving the moistness of the enrobed meat when the piece is eventually cooked and consumed. However, the quality and flavor of the meat can suffer nonetheless. In addition, the batter and breading usually adhere only poorly, if at all, to the cooked piece, which results in the unfavorable experience that the breading falls off the meat product before, or while, it is in the hands of the consumer. Thus, there is a need for an improved product and process which provide a layer of breading to the surface of a piece of poultry, which will impart the desired performance but which will not exhibit poor adhesion to the product.
Previous attempts to provide coated, breaded poultry products are not entirely satisfactory and do not presage the present invention. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,646 a layer of dry material at least 50% of which is pregelatinized starch is applied to the surface of the product, followed by moisture in an amount sufficient to convert the starch into what is, in effect, a layer of batter. Thus, the disclosed technique alters the manner in which a batter film is formed, but still leads to the formation of a batter layer which would exhibit the same detrimental performance characteristics. U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,137 likewise alters the sequence of steps in which the batter is formed, still using pregelatinized starch as the major component of the batter, but still leads to nothing more than a battered product which would not change the undesirable characteristics of a batter film on a poultry piece.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,933 also requires coating the food product with a batter and expressly teaches away from forming the coating with materials which have a high gluten content. By contrast, flour having high gluten content is a significant aspect of the present invention.
By way of further background, U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,172 typifies the technique discussed above of applying a batter to seal the food product, and then applying bread crumbs, cereal crumbs or other coating material to the batter. U.S. Pat. No. 2,910,370 is also typical of previously known techniques in which the poultry product is coated with a batter. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,069 a conventional batter layer is applied to a precooked food piece; the battered piece must then be cooked again, for instance, deep fried, to prepare it to be eaten.